"According to International law, Sweden has a responsibility to prosecute crimes
against humanity in their national courts," human rights expert Payam
Akhavan, a professor of international law and human rights at McGill
University in Canada, told the Center for Human Rights in Iran on November 14,
2019.

The executions of some 4000-5000 prisoners in 1988, who had all been issued
prison sentences and were serving their terms, have been internationally
recognized as crimes
against humanity. The executions were ordered by inquisition-like "death
commissions" set up after the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) by a fatwa (ruling)
issued by Islamic Republic founder and then supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini. Many of the victims were supporters of the Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK)
opposition group, but communists, members of Fadaian-e Khalgh, and other groups
were also targeted. The prisoners were secretly killed in mass hangings
throughout the country and dumped
into mass graves.

Nouri was arrested in
Stockholm on November 9 as he arrived at Arlanda Airport in Sweden to visit
relatives. He is currently in Swedish custody, held by a court order on November
13, pending a prosecutor's decision on whether to press charges by December 11.

"The fact that the Swedish court extended Nouri's detention for a month is quite
a complicated matter because now the prosecutor has to look for documents and
evidence," Akhavan said. "The detention period can be extended if more time is
needed to find more documents," the professor of international law added.

He continued, "To prosecute someone for crimes against humanity is not easy. You
need proof and evidence. In this short amount of time it's very important for us
to gather enough evidence to convince the court to try this person."

US-based human rights activist Iraj
Mesdaghi, who was a political prisoner in Iran from 1981 to 1991, described
Nouri as "one of the highest-level suspects in connection with the 1988 massacre
within the European legal jurisdiction."

"During many years of investigation, I discovered through my contacts inside
Iran that Nouri had traveled to Europe many times," Mesdaghi told CHRI on
November 10. "A case was built against him in Sweden and as soon as he arrived,
he was arrested by a prosecutor's order. In Sweden, they don't arrest anyone for
no reason. You need sufficient cause."

"Like all criminals, he's denying the charges and claims that it's a case of
mistaken identity. But there's enough evidence against him and he's not going to
get away so easily."

According to Mesdaghi, in 1988 Nouri was a deputy prosecutor who worked along
with Mohammad Moghisseh, currently a Revolutionary Court judge, in selecting
which prisoners should be marked for potential execution.

"They knew the prisoners and therefore they were in charge of selecting and
prioritizing which ones would have to appear in front of the Death Commission.
Also, they would do their best to convince the Commission to issue death
sentences.

"They would be present during the executions, along with Revolutionary Guards
and other officials. They were witnesses and directly participated in the
executions. Then [Nouri] would celebrate by distributing pastries and cake in
the prison hallways.

"I saw him with the 'Death
Commission' members in Evin Prison as well as Gohardasht (Rajaee Shahr)
Prison. I saw him in the prison corridors. Many prisoners saw him and know him.
We can bring a hundred witnesses to testify. I mentioned his real name and
pseudonym (Hamid Abbasi) in my books, which were published 15 years ago, as one
of the people who actively collaborated with the 1988 Death Commission,"
Mesdaghi said.

Tehran's Death Commission was comprised of Ebrahim
Raisi, then deputy prosecutor of Tehran and now the current Head of Iran's
Judiciary Chief; Mostafa Pourmohammadi,
an intelligence ministry representative at the time and minister of justice
during President Hassan Rouhani's first term (2013-2017); Morteza Eshraghi,
Tehran Prosecutor at the time, and Hossein Ali Nayeri, then the religious judge
at Evin Prison and now a high court judge.

In later years, Nouri joined the Intelligence Ministry and was an associate of
Raisi and Pourmohammadi, according to Mesdaghi.

"We are only in the beginning of a long road but it gives up hope that criminals
are not going be safe anywhere. We will catch them one day to face justice. This
is the first case in Iranian history but it certainly won't be the last,"
Mesdaghi said.

The 1988 executions are not a closed chapter, reflecting events of decades ago.
These crimes are in fact ongoing, as detailed in a report by Amnesty
International. The thousands of families of those who were killed are still
not allowed to conduct mourning rituals or commemorations, and they continue to
be harassed, threatened and attacked whenever they have tried to seek justice or
even information about their loved ones' fate, remains or burial sites.